CSR Cheat Sheet: Millennials driving jump in ethical investment

The Greek playwright Euripides knew a thing or two about the human condition. Two and a half millennia after his birth, his observation about young people still stands true. “Youth is the best time to be rich”, he wrote, “and the best time to be poor”. How young people use their wealth is changing, however. According to new research from Triodos Bank, one in five (19%) of UK investors, and nearly half (47%) of 18- to 34-year-olds, plan to invest in a socially responsible investment (SRI) fund. Among millennials, 56% are galvanized to do so by the tide of “bad news” in the press, particularly natural disasters (14%), the 2008 financial crisis (14%) and the fossil fuel divestment movement (13%). The bad news effect drops by 30% when the appetite for so-called “resist investing” is averaged out across all age groups.

The new research fuels an upbeat assessment of the UK market for ethical investment, which Triodos estimates will be worth $48bn by 2027, up 173% on current levels. The survey also reveals that 55% of investors want their money to support companies with strong social and environmental records. For its...

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